Friday, 25 March 2011

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9 comments:

Hello, Pete, and thanks for your concern, which is much appreciated! It's very good to know at least one person out there in the blogosphere gives a damn about me though... that at least one person is even looking! So, thank you again for that! ;->

Yes, I am OK, although I am expecting we will fairly soon see some... punctuation... in our world, and I am trying my best to enjoy the silence ahead of that -- I don't suppose that time will provide much in the way of enjoyment. This is a difficult thought to carry around all the time with you, isn't it? To see something coming up ahead, that nobody you care about would understand if you try to explain it, and in fact they hold it against you if you even attempt to. Finding people to discuss it with in a meaningful way is difficult, but worth the trouble for your sanity.

I was observing to myself recently that often we ignore the "silence", we're all so busy trying to talk. A barrel is only as useful as the empty space inside of it; where else would the wine go, sit and mature for a while and improve itself? Similarly, there is often more to find between the lines of text when reading people's work. A lot of the time I read stuff and think it would be better if there were fewer words, and more emphasis on the simple message that is carried by them; often overwhelmed by them.

I'm also doing a LOT of navel-gazing, trying to collate my thoughts as best I can and to try to ensure I have as many things as possible straight in my head, and as straight as I can manage with my meagre personal resources in my personal affairs.

"This is a difficult thought to carry around all the time with you, isn't it? To see something coming up ahead, that nobody you care about would understand if you try to explain it, and in fact they hold it against you if you even attempt to."

I know that all to well. It's much easier to keep with the status quo than to go against it. But it is in my nature to question the status quo, and that's how I ended up on 'the trail' so to speak.

Over time, the lesson I have learned is that you cannot teach those who don't want to learn. Unfortunately this includes a very large portion of the world when it comes to the topics of recession, depression, hyperinflation, freegold.

Now it doesn't bother me so much. Such information was much trickier to come by when I started my 'investigations' before the GFC, but nowdays it is much easier to find people challenging the status quo. All people are ultimately responsible for their choices in life, including the choice to understand their country, the economy, and how it affects them.

If such information was force-fed to me before I sought it myself, I might have reacted in a similar way as others too.

That's how I see it anyway. It certainly beats banging your head against brick walls. :)

I've pretty much given up the idea of being able to lead any of the horses near me by the reigns, and instead just try putting out some buckets of water, in a line down to the shore of the lake. Even these tempting buckets of water seem to be ineffective though. Perhaps I should put out Tequilla shots instead.

Still, at least you can pretty much count on sitting in the sun to enjoy the show. Perhaps we will get a summer here this year too, who knows? Everything looks better when the sun is out.

Here in Australia I had a similar issue discussing our crazy property bubble with people. It seems that people generally prefer doing the herd thing. Maybe it is a 'safety in numbers' instinct. Or just naivety.

Regardless, I can feel a bit happier knowing that I am insured against the 'unthinkable'. And on the more selfish side, the longer people remain on the other side of the fence, the longer I have to acquire more 'insurance'.

Unfortunately we will never be in a position to say 'i told you so'... not if we value our safety. Contrarian life is tough.

Paradoxically, the more we collectively buy insurance, the close we bring the event.

Hey - I thought the Sydney property bubble still hadn't quite popped? I have friends who are in the process of moving back over there right now. Are they going to find you're still at bubble valuations then? They're not in a position to be able to buy right away, but I have every confidence they will want to do exactly that just as soon as they can.

It sure is a paradox. I'm not in a mad hurry for the event just yet though :) (not that I get to choose the timing)

Yeah it's still big bubble time everywhere in Australia, other than in Queensland (north east area), and some parts of Perth (far western). Sydney and Melbourne are still at peak prices, although things seem to be turning slowly.

I figure if a house price decline gains any momentum, we're so completely screwed here. It won't be pretty.

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